Chemical Compatibility of Polymers in Medical Devices Webinar

In this webinar we introduce Chemical Compatibility of Polymers in Medical Devices and prevent material problems in the field.

In the healthcare industry there is an increasing focus on cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and medical devices. The recent Covid-19 pandemic and new Medical Device Regulations are expected to accelerate the focus on disinfection. Disinfection describes a process that eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms on surfaces. In health-care settings, objects usually are disinfected by liquid chemicals. The primary use of disinfectants is to eliminate or greatly reduce microbial pathogens and thus prevent the transmission of disease and illness.

The down side of frequent disinfection is that in particular polymer materials can show incompatibility against the chemical ingredients of the disinfection agents. This chemical incompatibility can lead to material discoloration, stickiness, embrittlement or even catastrophic crack formation of the material. In many cases the housing of the medical device is attacked by the disinfection agents leading to unsafe electrical and microbiological situations.